Businessman moves to court to stop three-judge bench from hearing Gachagua’s impeachment case
Aura wants all related matters paused until his application is heard, insisting only a reconstituted bench can deliver justice in such a high-stakes constitutional case.
A businessman has moved to court seeking to bar an empanelled bench of three judges from hearing the impeachment case of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Joseph Aura, in his application filed under urgency, challenges the legitimacy of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki's appointment.
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He wants Justices Anthony Mrima, Fridah Mugambi, and Eric Ogola disqualified from hearing all related petitions, arguing that the judges cannot remain impartial after the Court of Appeal previously nullified their initial appointment to the same bench.
Aura, through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, claims he was not notified of Chief Justice Martha Koome's decision to reassign the judges, despite their expected mention of all Rigathi-related petitions this afternoon.
Chief Justice Koome's official notice confirmed the bench—Justices Ogola, Mrima, and Mugambi—to sit today at 2:30 pm to give directions on the petitions.
Aura wants all related matters paused until his application is heard, insisting only a reconstituted bench can deliver justice in such a high-stakes constitutional case.
Through his lawyer, Harrison Kinyanjui, he argues that the appearance of justice is at stake, warning that the continued involvement of the judges violates the principle that justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done.
"Despite Aura's earlier request to Chief Justice Martha Koome for a five-judge expanded bench, the CJ reappointed the same three judges. Kinyanjui claims this move undermines fair adjudication and accuses the judges of "clinging" to the petition for opaque reasons," Aura claims in court documents.
Aura now wants the court to stop the judges from hearing his amended petition altogether and to reconstitute a new constitutional bench. He insists the matters at hand are of immense public interest and constitutional weight, including alleged violations of the Bill of Rights and the legality of Kindiki's position as Deputy President.
He warns of a looming constitutional crisis if President William Ruto is ever declared unfit to serve, arguing that without a legitimately appointed Deputy President, Kenya could be thrust into a leadership vacuum under Article 146(2)(a) of the Constitution.
"The implications go beyond the petitioner. They affect national stability and the constitutional order," Kinyanjui states.
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